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East Lansing can have a vegetarian restaurant

It is really sad to hear that (Magdalena’s and Green River Café) are closing. I think we are ready in East Lansing to have vegan or vegetarian restaurants, but I don’t think the owners were ready to run a restaurant.

I had a few bad experiences at the Green River Café related to the service and not the food, and I was not the only one. Running a restaurant is not an easy job and many times we consumers are also very nice and take mistakes for the sake of having these kinds of venues open. There is also the issue of pricing.

Magdalena’s Tea House was expensive for me, a graduate student. I tried to support the open mic nights, but I have to admit that it was a bit too much for me. I am sad for Magdalena’s Tea House; I really liked the place.

— Loulou From www.LansingCityPulse.com

Lansing police, firefighters give blood, and you can, too

Every two seconds someone needs blood. In the Great Lakes region, it takes about 700 units of blood each day to service our hospitals. During the summer months we see a decrease in the number of people donating blood.

Individuals are traveling and school is out. Adversely, we see an increase in the need for blood because there is more traffic on the roadways and more boats on the water — leading to more accidents and traumas.

For the ninth year in a row, the Lansing Police and Fire departments have shown the American Red Cross great support by challenging each other and their community to give blood. These men and women, who risk their lives everyday to save others, are literally rolling up their sleeves to save lives.

They are heroes everyday and they are helping us spread the word that everyone can be a hero. When you donate blood, you help save up to three lives.

On behalf of the American Red Cross Great Lakes Blood Services Region, I would like to thank all of our donors and everyone in your community for their support during the summer. Please get out to donate blood and support the fire and police departments in your area — all while helping to save lives.

I would like to inform Pulse readers about a grassroots community organizing effort on the streets of Lansing. Our orga nization, Michigan Peoples Action, is working from the bottom up to bring a greater degree of social justice to the city. With the assistance of the NorthStar Center, we have been holding weekly organizing meetings with poor and homeless people, looking for solutions to the homelessness and unemployment more and more people face everyday.

We are sponsoring a candidate forum for mayor and Council candidates on July 16 at the Central United Methodist Church in downtown Lansing. All citizens are invited to hear how the candidates respond to questions about fighting poverty and ending homelessness.

Issues of poverty and social class are often ignored in the formal political process and we hope that our forum will help focus local politicians on the poorest people in our community.

— Michael Evans Michigan Peoples Action Lansing

Be safe with fireworks

With July 4 fast approaching, your Lansing firefighters would like to remind you about firework safety.

Fireworks start an estimated 30,000 fires every year. Each year there are about 9,500 injuries due to fireworks. According to the National Fire Protection Association and Consumer Product Safety Commission there were 11 deaths in 2007 caused by fireworks.

Children are most at risk to receive injuries. The risk of injury was almost three times higher for kids ages five to 14. It is believed their curiosity, lack of coordination, and lack of adult supervision lead to injuries.

In Michigan, any fireworks that leave the ground like bottle rockets, or make a loud bang, like firecrackers, are illegal. The penalty for using these could be a fine. If you are going to use fireworks please buy them from local stores and be sure they are legal. The Lansing Fire Deparmtent recommends leaving it to the professionals. Be safe, Lansing, and have a safe fun Independence Day! — Eric Weber Lansing Fire Department